Last Thursday I spent 45 minutes on a Fiverr buyer request that turned out to be a scam

Was sitting at my kitchen table in St. Louis, saw this gig request for a logo redesign that paid $350. The description was super detailed, seemed legit. I put together a whole proposal with sketches and everything. Then the guy messages me asking to pay him $50 upfront via some weird link so he could 'verify my account'. I knew right then it was a scam. Told him to take a hike. Wasted my whole morning. Has anyone else noticed these scams getting more common on Fiverr lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elizabeth16d ago

Ngl I got hit with almost the exact same thing about 2 months ago. $400 for a full brand identity package, the buyer had like 5 reviews all from 2019. I learned the hard way to never click any links they send, just block and report. Now I always check if the buyer has recent activity or completed orders before I even open their request. Saved myself a lot of headaches since then.

cora_west514d ago

The thing that gets me is how these scammers study the platform enough to know exactly when to strike. Like they wait until you've been working on a project for a bit and your guard is down. But here's the part nobody talks about - I started asking buyers for a quick voice call before I take anything serious. Most real clients are happy to hop on a 5 minute call to talk details. Scammers almost always make excuses or ghost you when you ask. It filters out like 90% of the fakes without needing to dig through their history.

jennybailey16d ago

Oh man @the_elizabeth is spot on about checking their history first. That same kind of "pay ME to verify your account" thing got me last year actually. It was for a $200 flyer design and I spent an hour drafting ideas before they hit me with that link nonsense. Now I look for red flags like brand new accounts with zero reviews or ones where the whole description is cut and paste from another listing. The worst part is how much time you waste before realizing it's fake.